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I believe being a teacher-activist is always watching out for my students and being there for them, every single day. I cannot just simply stop caring for my students one day; I must always be making sure to make sure they are doing okay and everything is good. There are many things to watch for in a classroom, and the well-being of my students is at the very top of the list. Why else would I be a teacher if I did not simply just care for the well-being of the little humans in my classroom? Isn't that what teaching is all about? As a future teacher, I am going to make sure I am always advocating for my students, when I may be the only advocate they have.

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I believe my responsibilities as a teacher are to advocate for all of my students, regardless of gender, race, ability, etc. All of my students deserve to feel as if they are cared about and that their education is valued. In the article A Talk To Teachers, by Baldwin, Baldwin discusses the hardships we are facing as a country, and how they affects everyone, not just adults. As teachers, we are responsible for educating and teaching our students not only about common core subjects, but what is also going on in the real-world. This is so that we can ensure our students are best-prepared for life after school.

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I believe collaboration is working together as a school to accomplish one main goal: to help students to learn and grow. This may be working together as a classroom community, a group of teachers working together, or teachers and administrators working together. In order to have a successful school and learning community, everyone must work together. Collaboration is something that has been discussed often throughout my special education courses. As a special education teacher, I will constantly be collaborating with other teachers and parents to help a student to receive the best services possible and that will benefit them. By doing so, I will need to effectively communicate with the people on my team and the child as well, so they can have the best learning environment possible.

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I believe community/family is very important to children and schools in today's society. Children spend most of their day at school, but, when they are not at school, they are most likely with their family. How students are raised and how they act at home can reflect on how they act at school. This may or may not explain certain behaviors as well. What goes on in the community is also very important and relates heavily to schools. We are currently working on a community mapping project in two of our courses. In math, we found things in the community that the students may see/go often. This is what we are basing our math problems off. When students are able to relate things to what they do at home/in the community, it makes them want to read/solve/answer the problem that much more, because they simply can relate and understand it.

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I believe students learn best when they are in an environment in which they are comfortable and their learning can flourish. This can be done by the way the teacher creates a classroom community, and makes that classroom community culturally responsive. This way, students of all different backgrounds can feel comfortable and that their background is valued. One thing that has been on my mind lately is the idea of my students thinking that white is "normal", aka books with white students, posters hung around the room, etc. I want my classroom to be so diverse, that my students never think in a deficit perspective such as that!

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I believe that teaching should be made exciting and useful for each and every individual student. Each student in a classroom is so unique and individual, they each can bring something different to the classroom community. There are student that speak different languages, have different cultural backgrounds, and even learning styes. The teachers that acknowledge these differences in each student and use that to make the classroom more exciting and a better place are the teachers that make a huge impact on all of their students. This is the teacher I am striving to be. I want to make sure that each and every student of mine feels valued, and that their uniqueness matters in the classroom. I also want to make sure I am the teacher that acknowledges that each child learns differently, and is able to create different lessons that can apply to every student.

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I believe that learning should be as authentic as possible. Learning should not be to help students do well on a standardized test, or for the teacher to "look good." Learning should benefit the student, and help the student to grow and achieve. Learning also should not only be from the common core curriculum; it should include learning about the real-world, such as talking about certain issues that are not always easy to talk about in school. This way, students feel comfortable in the classroom, and that they can feel comfortable sharing whatever it is they want to share. Learning should benefit every student, regardless of gender, race, class, etc. Learning also does not stop with the student; teachers should always be learning as well.

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I believe students will learn best when I create a classroom environment in which they can all succeed in. Each student is going to have their own way of doing things and learning, so therefore I need to focus on those different learning styles and how I can apply it to each individual student. I also think that students will learn best when they can interact with their peers and learn from one another. This shows the importance of small group and partner work. Another thing that will allow students to learn best in my classroom involves myself to make sure that I am including things that interests my students. In order to learn, students must first be interested in what they are learning about. My goal is to make sure I am making my students engaged and actually want to learn.

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I believe all my future students are all unique and bring their own individuality to the classroom community. I am going to have students of all kinds of different backgrounds, ethnicities, races, social classes, etc. This alone is going to make my classroom so diverse, and unique in its very own way! One thing I need to make sure I do as a future educator is to embrace this, and all of my students and what they bring to the classroom. Acknowledging all the differences will only help to create a stronger classroom, and one that allows my students to feel as if they can talk about whatever they want to. I want my future students to always feel comfortable, and that they have a say in my classroom.

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I believe the purpose of schooling is to allow children to have a safe environment in which they can learn and let their knowledge to flourish. Students can learn about anything anywhere, but that does not mean it is a safe environment to foster learning. With that being said, it is very important that teachers of aware of this and how they can transform their classroom in order for their students to feel safe and comfortable. I feel as if a popular theme in this course and semester is the importance of making school safe and comfortable for students. If students do not feel comfortable and safe, then they will not want to learn, or be willing to learn. That is why there are schools, to create an environment in which children can learn.